Hajimete no Koi ga Owari Toki
by The Emperor's Empress
Summary: "I promise to stay by your side forever." But you never promised to do the same. The most painful part of being an immortal — watching the one wither away while you remained the same.
1. Prologue: Reminiscing

*** Prologue: Reminiscing ***

•• _She gazed at the green expanse of the rolling meadow that encompasses the riding grounds of the Akashi manor. It looked, from her vantage point atop a sakura tree, like a sea rolling with viridian waves as the gentle spring breeze blew over them. It was beautiful._

_Around her, birds chirped their merry tunes as they hopped and flitted on the tree branches, weaving in and out of the snowy pink petals that would fall down occasionally at a single puff of the wind. She watched a couple of them float slowly to the green sea below her, and a voice from her memory echoed in her ancient mind._

"Sakura blossoms fall at a rate of five centimeters per second, the same speed as a snowflake!"

She felt a tug on her hand, and she looked down to see a small hand entwining itself with her larger one. The boy looked up at her with a proud grin as they walked down the sakura-lined path leading to the central garden in front of the manor.

She smiled at the boy's enthusiasm. The boy had always been like this during their early morning walks. She gazed at the falling petals around them, and thought if they indeed were falling at five centimeters per second. She held his hand gently in hers, careful that her nails won't graze his tender skin, and a lone fang glittered in the early morning air as she said, "That's interesting, little kit."

"I know! That's why I'm sharing it with you!" He laughed merrily in that high-pitched voice of a child's, then let go of her hand as he skipped ahead of her, enjoying this momentary freedom before he gets locked up in his own study, where all he does is to listen to his private tutors' boring ramblings about a particular lesson and to learn them perfectly principle by principle. The only breaks he would have until four in the afternoon would be for snacks and mealtimes, aside from those, he'd be sitting behind a desk that's well too large for him, with a stack of books in front of him with contents that are too advanced for his age.

As he romped about the place, his companion followed him at a close distance behind, merely watching and not saying anything. No orders, no complaints, just an amused glint in her gold eyes and a faint smile on her lips, a tip of a sharp canine tooth visible at the edge of her mouth.

After a while of playing around, the boy came up to her, seated beneath one of the trees that lined up the path. He sat on her lap, and looked up at her face eagerly. His small hand reached out and played with a lock of her hair that framed her face. He held it near the tip and turned it over and over in his fingers, fascinated by its color.

"What you doing, kit?" she asked, her arms around his little body in a loose embrace. She raised an eyebrow as he leaned back to her chest and continued playing with her hair.

"Your hair is like snow..." he answered quietly, as is speaking to himself. Then all of a sudden, he sneezed, and she chuckled as he regained his composure.

He released her hair then glared up at the fluffy fur that covered one of her shoulders. He pushed them away from his face. "Why do you have to have this — this thing anyway? It makes my nose itch!"

This was the only time he could raise a complaint without being lectured about manners, duties, and whatnot. The voice behind him said with a lace of mirth, "Oh, but you love them, don't you? You said they tickle your ears."

"Hmm.." he buried his face in them playfully. "Indeed, I do like them. They remind me of Yukimaru's mane."

"Mine is softer, though."

He giggled. "I wish I could stay like this forever... Ne, promise me one thing." His eyes shone with seriousness that one wouldn't expect from a seven-year old kid.

"Hmm-mmm.. Promise you what, kit?"

"That we'll continue having our morning trips together."

"Of course. I'm not about to leave anytime soon."

"I'll miss you if you go away someday." There was the unmistakeable sincerity of his sadness reflected in his tone. She patted him on the head.

"Don't worry, little one." She ruffled his hair, marveling at their softness. "I have the whole of eternity to take walks with you."

"But you have to go someday, right? Like Grandma and Grandpa did?"

She smiled at him. Of course, he was talking about death. He was still a child, yet he already had an idea of how life works.

"No. As I've said, I'm not going anywhere. That's promise."

"A promise?"

"Hmmm-mmm."

"Then let's swear it on it!" He held out his tiny pinky finger to her. A childish gesture to which she complied.

"I promise not to leave my dear little kit and stay by his side forever and take morning walks with him everyday." She laced her pinky with his, and he beamed up at her happily.

They stayed that way for a while, and then, she pushed him gently off her lap. Time's up; they have to return to the manor, where breakfast was waiting, along with his parents and after that, his dreaded lessons. He was reluctant to return; he'd rather spend the whole day with his companion here. Sensing his hesitation, she tugged on his hand as she led him towards the house, his cheerful spirit now dampened with sadness.

"I'll join you in your lessons, kit."

"But you said you find them boring..." he sulked, dragging his feet behind him.

"Yes, I do find them boring. But you got History, Literature, and music lessons today, so I think I can manage."

"Are you sure?" the boy perked up.

"Yes, yes, I'm a hundred percent sure, kit."

Her words sent the boy's spirits up, and by the time they entered the manor, he was being the composed heir, his steps confident and sure as he walked before her, yet if one would look close enough, his crimson orbs was shining in secret happiness.

_How many years had it been since then? When she first saw him as a little child? Or when he finally breathed his last? How much time had passed her by? Decades, centuries, or was it a whole millenia? She shrugged; she never was one to care much for that abstract notion of time. Time means nothing to an immortal being like her. Everything in her life is just a repetition of something else that she'd done before. It was like playing a song on repeat — the music starts then ends, only to go back to play itself once more. Unless you turn off the radio, there was no way it would stop going in circles. _

_This is how her life goes — the purpose of her endless existence._

_A call from below broke her from her reverie. A boy, eerily identical to the one in her memories, was standing there, calling her name, asking for her to go down and play with him. She gazed in those crimson orbs, wishing that somehow she'd find that familiar warmth in them, but she was disappointed. _

_No, he is not him. Never been, and never will. She shook her head and jumped down from her perch. Her yukata billowed in the wind. As she took his hand in hers, she was reminded again of the fact that this was a different person she was holding. It created a weird feeling in her unbeating heart; one close to what humans would call 'nostalgia', which of course made her laugh inwardly at the very thought of it. What was she thinking? Only humans feel that way. But there was no denying it; but then again, out of all the heirs she'd come across in her immortal life, only one managed to leave an impression in her vast plain of memories. _

_Where everything was blurred and distorted, ravaged by time, only her memories of him stood out clear as if they only took place yesterday. Every single detail, every word said, she can recall with startling accuracy. It's like he is the only thing that mattered to her._

_She held up the pinky finger that had once encircled his own. The one where they sealed that promise of forever. She smiled. She'd kept her promise._

_Ninety-six years. That's how long she spent together with him. She'd seen him as an innocent child, to a impulsive adolescent, then to a rational adult. She was there as he grew up from a helpless baby to a wizened old man. She was there when he spoke his first word, took his first step, played his first basketball match, experienced his first taste of death, took his first loss, regained his first self, created his first own company, had his first child, down to his last words, his last breath, his last smile. She'd seen him in both his best and his worst. She'd known him better than anyone else, much more than his wife, than his mother, more than his own self. She was the only thing that remained constant in his world, her unchanging appearance and demeanor that only seemed to remind him that he was changing day by day, yet he held on to her — his only pillar that stood unmoveable in this constantly shifting and turning world. She remained, long after he had left this dimension to somewhere else that she couldn't possibly reach. She was forever chained to this earth, bound by her shackles to her duty, with no possible escape nor reprieve._

_Two words came unbidden to her lips. She said it again, liking the way it seemed to roll of her tongue. The only person able to carve a permanent mark on her being._

_His name — Akashi Seijuurou._

••


	2. Chapter 1: Welcome

**TheEmperor'sEmpress»**

**» I made a few alterations on my OC here. I've edited the prologue as well. Instead of lavender eyes, I turned it back to gold (yeah, I've an obsession with gold eyes) and instead of snowy pink, her hair is now pure white. Anyone who can guess as to whom I modeled her after?**

**Anyways, please read and review — not just this story but with my other works as well! Tell me what you think! **

**P.S. I do not own Kuroko no Basuke. **

***Chapter One: Welcome***

•• **PAST ••**

He came in the middle of winter, amid the howling of the blizzard raging incessantly outside. In the silence of the night, his cries echoed in the darkness, like a beacon of light that induces hope in the hearts of those who are lost. He brought a new kind of warmth in the lonely halls of the Akashi manor, which always felt empty despite the three inhabitants and the countless servants that flitted in and about the huge house like ghosts afaid to see the light of day.

The man beside me took one look at the newborn baby and said casually, "He'll become a perfect heir in time."

I gave him a reproachful look at his obvious lack of emotion toward his own son, who was wailing loudly in the arms of the old woman who had assisted his wife in giving birth. It is tradition for the Akashi to have the heir be born in the house, as what they've done for the past centuries. And this means that I've witnessed the same scene generation to generation: the cold father looking at his child with total disinterest while his wife was unconscious or too exhausted to care either. I sighed.

"You're being too indifferent to your own flesh and blood, Katsuo. Even you had gotten better treatment from your own father."

He snorted in derision, despite fully knowing that I am stating a fact, thus he did not even try to deny it. "Better to be uncaring all along than to be kind at first only to leave them out cold in the middle."

"You're not even going to hold him?"

"No. It's not necessary."

I glanced at the sleeping woman on the bed. Her brow was drenched in sweat and exhaustion was clearly written on her pale face. Her breathing was shallow, too light that it was hard to see if she was even alive. I could hear the baby crying as the old woman wiped off the blood from his body, the smell of which assailed my sensitive nose with its metallic stench. The man never offered to take the baby, nor was he concerned with his wife's condition. His heartlessness knows no bounds.

When the baby was now bundled warmly with a clean cloth, I waited for him to step forward and calm the baby's cries, but he did none of it. Instead, he seemed to be irritated by the noise and wordlessly, he stepped out of the room without as much as a backward glance. So much for being a father.

The old woman looked at me helplessly as all her efforts to hush the child was futile. I stretched out my arms to her, and gently, though reluctantly, she gave him to me as one would hand an offering to a deity. As I brought him close to my body, I gave a kiss on his rosy cheek and rocked him back and forth as I hummed an ancient lullaby, whose lyrics are long forgotten in the vast sea of my memories. Slowly but surely, his wails became quieter and quieter until at last, he was peacefully lying in my arms, suckling on his little thumb. The old woman, who had been eyeing me with mistrust the moment I stepped into the room, now looked at me with newfound respect. Confident that the heir was in perfectly good hands, she tended to his mother while I stood near the window, peering through the glass panes. When at last she was finished with her job and cleaned up everything, the old woman bid me goodbye. Before she went through the door though, I asked her for the boy's name, to which she smiled, albeit a sad one that made her look older than she already was, and said in a sorrowful voice:

"Seijuurou. His name is Akashi Seijuurou."

—

Alone in the room save for the sleeping woman and the child in my arms, I pondered over the name that the woman had told me. To bear the name of Akashi is already a huge burden in itself, but to give him a name like that was like placing the whole world on his shoulders. 'Conqueror of ten men', 'perfect subjugation' — no matter how you read it, both bear the same weight that no doubt would hung heavily around his neck. I looked down at the child's innocent face, clueless of what fate has in store for him. I, on the other hand, has a clear picture of how his future would play out, and I'm afraid that it is not exactly the kind of future that one would ever hope to have.

"Seijuurou," I whispered, and I felt him a stir faintly in my arms. His hair was as red as blood, of which he still reeks of. I have no doubts as to the what the color of his eyes would be. Surely it will be twin orbs of vivid crimson as well.

"You've got a cruel world to live in, little kit. It will break you into pieces, but you need to stay strong enough to hold yourself together and to not fall apart. Because if you do, you'll end up picking the pieces with no hope of putting them back in place where they were before."

I ran my finger softly down the length of his arm, my thoughts wandering once again to the past. _How many of them had I held in my arms? How many have I taken in my embrace when their own fathers abandoned them? _It seems that I have lost count. The years passed by, yet time left me untouched, as if time had forgotten that I even exist. I glanced at the unconscious figure on the bed to my left, and continued. _How many of their wives have I comforted in the absence of their husbands? How many cheeks do I have to wipe off of their tears? _And then, as I gazed into the heart of the flame of the candle on the table nearby, I thought: _How many more years will I continue doing the same ardous thing? _

The last question, of course, was rhetorical. I've an eternity to live, and so as long as the Akashi existed, so will I, bound to an oath I've made a long, long time ago. Unlike humans, who are quick to forget and break promises, kitsune like me are not like them. The moment we make a promise is equal to having ourselves shackled and held captive by our words.

And we kitsune never forget.

Not in a thousand years.

—

It was nearing midnight when she finally awoke from her slumber, still, she was clearly spent. Giving birth is not an easy thing to do. In fact, I've seen some of them die in the process. As much as I want to help, I am not allowed to bring the dead back to life despite the fact that I am capable of doing so, for that would mean disrupting the normal run of things. Death comes when it wants to, and unless one dies at the hand of another through deliberate actions, I can't do anything but to simply watch as they passed from this world to the next one.

"Setsuna, good you're finally awake. The little one is getting hungry."

I went over and handed her her son, the one that she had gone over through much pain to bring into this world. Her fatigue vanished as she saw the product of her suffering, and knows that it was worth it. The beautiful infant in her arms was proof of that.

"My precious Seijuurou," she cooed, rocking the baby in her arms like I did earlier, and kissed his forehead. "Gitsune, thanks for watching over Seijuurou for me. I am truly grateful."

"It was nothing. Seijuurou is my responsibility as much as he is yours." My eyes went to the infant now suckling milk almost greedily from his mother's breast, and I recalled how helpless he looked when I held him just a while ago. I smiled in satisfaction and approval. _That's it,_ I told him mentally_, learn to fight for survival as early as now. You'll need it if you want to succeed. _

"Where's Katsuo?"

I knew she would look for him, and I know that she already knows the answer to her own question. My silence was enough confirmation as it is. I can almost hear her heart breaking. A lone tear rolled off her cheek, followed by another, and another. However, before she erupted into a crying mess, I sat on the edge of the bed and wiped her tears with my hand. My gold eyes met with her obsidian ones, willing her tears to stop falling. My other hand held her shoulder to stop them from shaking.

"Be strong, Setsuna. Not only for yourself, but for your son as well. Seijuurou will need your strength for the torturous years that he'll soon be facing. Don't worry about being alone in this — as I've said earlier, Seijuurou is my responsibility too, and I will do what I can to help ease the pain, not only his but yours as well. I've told you all this when you agreed to become the Akashi clan mother, haven't I? Don't tell me you're regretting it now?"

Her response was slow in coming, but I am in no hurry to get it out of her. I let her compose herself and think the matter thoroughly, and to let her speak when she was ready and firm in her resolve. What I'm looking for was the sincerity of her answer, and she did not disappoint me. For when our eyes met once again, hers was now burning with passion and determination for the sake of her son. The flame of a mother's love, which for me is the most selfless and compassionate love of all. Here is a woman willing to brave Hell for her child.

"Of course. I'll be Seijuurou's pillar, his rock. I will support and guide him as much as I can. It doesn't matter if I can or can't — it's something I have to do as his mother. It's the least that I can do."

I smiled at her, and she returned the gesture. When the child finally had his fill, I tucked them in and wished them goodnight, while I stood watch over their sleeping figures as I waited for the coming of dawn.

•• **PRESENT ••**

His eyelids fluttered open, revealing mismatched orbs of vibrant red and yellow. A pale white ceiling was the first thing that met his gaze. Sitting up in his unusually uncomfortable bed, he reached out and turned off the screaming alarm clock that had roused him from slumber at exactly five o'clock in the morning.

He stared at the vacant side of the bed. He reached and touched the indentation — it was still warm. After a moment's contemplation, he finally got out of the bed, fixed the covers and went through his usual morning preparations. Half an hour had passed by the time he stepped out of his bedroom, a messenger bag slung over one shoulder.

It was dim in the living room — not a single light turned on. However, the curtains covering the ceiling-to-floor glass windows of his apartment was drawn to the side, allowing the faint light of the dawn to illuminate the area. It was there that he found his companion standing, staring out into the horizon, waiting for the sun to finally show itself.

Akashi set his bag on one of the cushions surrounding the low wooden table in the center of the room. He spoke silently, but in the silence of their surroundings, his words were perfectly clear and audible.

"Waiting for the dawn, as usual, Gitsune."

The figure by the windows did not turn around to face him. Still in the same position and in the same silent voice that Akashi had used, she replied, "Aa. The dawn is something that never failed to fascinate me no matter how many times I've seen it."

Akashi joined her and stood beside her, and watched the sunrise with her. For about a quarter of an hour they stood there in comfortable silence as they watched the pale blue sky became a canvas of various shades of red, yellow, and orange as the sun began its ascent from the pink-tinted horizon.

—

"Well, I'm off," Akashi announced as he headed to the door. "I'll be back at five at the latest."

"I know," Gitsune replied from her seat on the cushions. "Stay out of trouble, kit," she added, earning an annoyed glare from the redhead. He turned to leave and was about to shut the door behind him when the fox said, "Don't forget your bento!"

Akashi swung the door wide enough for him to see the laughing kitsune, her tea growing colder on the table. "I don't have a bento. I'm eating lunch outside." And before she could make a proper comeback, the door closed and she heard the click of the lock, as if punctuating the fact that the redhead just had the last word in their early morning banter.

"The whelp is getting better at playing this game, hmmm," she mused. She went over the tally in her head, and laughed merrily. Akashi's got a long way before he could beat her score — she had a decade's worth of headstart from him.

She gazed at the scenery out the windows of their new residence for the next few years. The city of Tokyo sprawled as far as the eye can see, all glass and concrete unlike the preserved and traditional Kyoto where she had spent the better part of her life. However, in Seijuurou's case, she had spent his elementary years in the same city but un a different apartment, one that's more simple than the current one, and they had brought a full-tine maid along with them. This time, though, only the two of them lived in this apartment, with the housekeeper coming in once a week to clean the house, do the laundry, and stock the pantry. Gitsune, at times, would do the household chores herself and was mainly in charge of the cooking. But for the most part, she acted as Akashi's guardian and simply as a companion of the Akashi heir.

Having the apartment all to herself with nothing much to do, she washed the dishes that they had used for breakfast, then reverted back to her fox form and curled up on the cushions, waiting for the emperor to come home.

—

Akashi headed to the Communication Plaza where he was to meet up with several of his friends from high school who have chosen to attend the University of Tokyo as well. At the first floor of the building, he entered the Cafeteria Wakaba and immediately spotted their table whose occupants' bright hair colors acted as a sort of a beacon.

He ordered his lunch and walked over to them. Midorima Shintaro, Kuroko Tetsuya, and Momoi Satsuki was there, along with Midorima's high school friend and basketball partner Takao Kazunari. And beside Momoi sat another ravenhaired male whom he hasn't seen in years and whom he hasn't expected to see today.

He hid his mild surprise at the older boy's sudden appearance and greeted everyone before taking the vacant seat beside Kuroko. Throughout their meal, conversation flowed and he gathered a lot of information, some are useful and some are not, still he filed them away in his mind in case they proved to be useful someday.

From their chatter, some of the things that he learned and was worth mentioning was that Nijimura had returned to Japan a year ago for college after his father's death while he was in his second year of high school up in the States and was now taking Pharmaceutical Sciences which came as a surprise to those who knew him from Teiko (except himself — he did not doubt his former captain's intelligence despite his delinquent tendencies and as for his course preference, it has something to do with his father's illness); that Nijimura was part of the basketball team of their University (with Nijimura informing them of the dates for the team's tryouts without even asking them if they would be joining the team since he already knows that they are indeed planning to join anyway); that Kagami Taiga, Kuroko's former light, had decided to return to US along with Himuro where they will finish their studies (which somehow disappointed him a little at the loss of such a worthy opponent); and that Kuroko and Momoi are now finally an official couple which amused the redhead since he knows that the pinkette had been waiting for this moment ever since that fateful day when Kuroko gave her that popsicle stick (where her obsession for the phantom had started). As for their fields of study, Akashi himself is taking up Business Administration (no surprise there); Kuroko, Basic Education; Momoi, Law; Midorima, Medicine; and Takao, Biology.

As for the rest of the Miracles, they were scattered in specialized schools in their respective fields: Kise is aspiring to be a pilot, Aomine as a policeman, and Murasakibara as a chef. Before they all went their separate ways, plans of playing a couple matches of streetball with the rest of the gang, including Nijimura, was agreed upon and set on the weekend. The rest of the day, Akashi attended classes that bored him to no end, bumped into familiar people - former opponents in the court back in high school - and even had a shared class with Kuroko and two with Momoi. The redhead was relieved when the last of his classes finally ended after a good hour of listening to his professor's sleep-inducing lecture on the basics of economics. They were a good ten minutes overtime, and the trip back to the apartment would take him at most twenty. He did the math and cursed.

He's running late. "I told Gitsune I'll be back by five," he muttered as he glanced at his watch.

It's already five minutes past his promised time.

He ignored the stares and the whispers of the people he passed by on his way to the parking lot. Getting inside his car, Akashi had only one thought in mind.

Home.

—

Gitsune was busy setting dinner on the low wooden table when she heard the door open, revealing a slightly breathless Akashi. He muttered a quick "Tadaima", took off his shoes in a hurried yet refined way, then apologized for being almost an hour late. Gitsune merely gave him a knowing smile, carrying a couple of bowls and placing them on the table and beckoned him over. The fragrant smell of his favorite tofu dish reached his nose.

"No worries. Go get changed, kit. I still have to prepare dessert. It'll be ready the same time you finish cleaning yourself up."

She busied herself in the kitchen, peering inside the fridge. Before Akashi reached the bedroom though, she called him all of a sudden.

"Hey kit!"

There was a wary look in his face when the redhead turned to face the grinning kitsune. "Yes?" He was expecting some sort of another teasing comment from the wily fox, but to his surprise, her smile turned warm and caring, and in a gentle voice, she said one word that seemed to take away all of the exhaustion in his body.

"Okaeri."


	3. Chapter 2: Fur

**TheEmperor'sEmpress»**

**» Updated Chapter One: Welcome to follow the same format as this chapter.**

**Anyways, please read and review — not just this story but with my other works as well! Tell me what you think! **

**P.S. I do not own Kuroko no Basuke. **

***Chapter Two : Fur***

•• **PAST ••**

The servants cautiously stepped out of my way as I walked through the long hallways of the manor on my way to Akashi's bedroom. Like me, these servants belong to families who have sworn their servitude to the Akashi family, and my tale is made known to them as parents told their children of the kitsune who had sworn allegiance to the first Akashi clan head a long time ago. I've seen countless generations of the Akashi — along with their servants — come and go at the turn of the seasons. Only I myself remained the same, though my duties did become lighter and lighter at the passing of time.

As I pass them by, I could see some of them looking at my shadow that was projected along the length of the opposite wall. The silhouette that was cast on its surface was by no means resembling that of human being. Instead, it showed my true form — a nine-tailed fox demoness.

The older ones are more or less tolerant of me, and they've been around me long enough to feel assured that I won't be turning into a monster and killing everyone. However, it's not the same as with the younger ones. I can clearly smell their fear of me rolling off their bodies in waves.

My_ mokomoko-sama _billowed behind me with every step I took, the immaculate white color of my fur a clear sign of my rank as a kitsune, as if the shadow itself was not enough. Maybe that's why they are wary of me. They see me as someone powerful and not one to be trifled with. Which explains why I don't bother disguising myself further. Aside from the fact that they'd sworn to keep silent about this old secret of the Akashi family, they are fully aware that if one of them exposes my existence, it wouldn't be too hard for me to find out the culprit and exact the appropriate punishment to him or her. The punishment is death, of course.

I reached my destination soon enough, and I entered without knocking, since I can sense that there's no one in there except the heir himself. He was sleeping in his crib, and I simply stayed and watched over him until he wakes up.

A few hours later, Akashi stirred in his sleep, his arms and legs moving first this way, then the other. I counted to three, and his eyes opened, and that's when I got out of my seat to check up on him.

As I leaned forward to peer at him in his crib, Akashi giggled as he looked up at me, amd he stretched out his arms asking to be lifted up. I obliged, picking him up gently and cradling him securely in my arms. He seemed fascinated by everything about me: the markings on my face, the design of my kimono, and most especially, the soft fur covering my left shoulder. The little kit, in his curiousity, could not for the life of him decide what to touch first: my face, my collar, or my fur. After much wriggling and squirming in my arms, he finally settled for the fur.

I held him in a position that would allow him to do whatever he wants with my fluff-covered shoulder, which includes some bit of pulling and tugging by his pudgy hands, and a bit of drooling whenever he decides that it was fun to bury his face on it. All of which I silently endured, though I enjoyed hearing his giggles, and seeing his face with that smile of his.

However, when an hour passed and he still hasn't tired of messing with my shoulder (which was starting to ache from all his pulling on my fur), I couldn't help but sigh and began talking to him, not caring if he'd understand me or not.

"Hey kit, still not satisfied with playing with my _mokomoko-sama? _It hurts, you know? You pull hard for a human as little as you."

Akashi, whose little hands were clutching painfully into my sore skin underneath all the fur, stopped and turned his attention on me. I stared back at his big crimson eyes, and his mouth opened as he tried to form — somehow — a coherent word.

"Mo...ko? Moko?"

I raised an eyebrow at him, which unfortunately was hidden from view by my bangs that covered my forehead. The only sign that I am raising my eyebrow is the fact that my left eye is a bit bigger than the other.

"You were saying something, kit?"

"Mo..komo—ko!"

My pointy ears perked up. The kit had just spoken his first real word! As my lips unconsciously curled into a smile, Akashi seemed to caught on my happiness and did what babies do when they were excited by something. The one when they looked like they were trying to jump up and down while you were holding them. And he kept on repeating the word and giggling once in a while as if tickled whenever he hears himself speak it out loud.

"Moko—moko!"

And then his hands closed on that bundle of fur, and pulled. It was all I could do not to yelp in pain.

"Moko..mo..ko!"

While the little emperor did his little victory dance at having spoken his first word, I, on the other hand, was trying my best to put up with this unexpected torture.

So much for my _mokomoko-sama_. Somehow, after hearing the little kit say the word countless times, I think it's starting to lose its meaning.

How would I tell Setsuna that her son's first word is "fluff fluff", not "mama" or "papa" or anything remotely close to that?

•• **PRESENT••**

It was Saturday afternoon and Akashi had just returned from playing basketball with the rest of the Kiseki no Sedai. Murasakibara, however, was not able to go due to some kind of a family emergency. Aomine and Kise was truly surprised at seeing Nijimura again, with Kise hugging the older boy much to his mortification.

They played a three-on-three, with Momoi acting as referee and scorekeeper. After much shouting and pulling, along with a couple of whacks on the head of Kise and Aomine (courtesy of Nijimura), a well-aimed ball on Aomine's face (courtesy of a certain greenhaired shooter and which would have hit its mark if not for Kuroko's intervention), all of which ended at a single glare from Akashi, the teams were finally decided: Team One, Akashi, Midorima, and Nijimura; Team Two, Kise, Aomine, and Kuroko.

They played a series of matches in which the team who wins two out of three matches is considered the victor. Team One won the first set, courtesy of Midorima's threes and the cunning of two skilled point guards who took care of stealing the ball and passing it to Midorima who was assigned the role of scoring for the team. A close match, with Aomine's team a mere three baskets behind. Kise was clamoring for a rematch when Momoi suggested that after every win, the members of each team will be shuffled to make things more interesting. All in all, they played six sets, with the winning teams being the ones with Akashi in it. Because of the shuffling, it created some fearsome combination of team plays, like when Akashi and Kuroko was placed in the same team (steals and anklebreaks and awesome passes was all over the place). They went home tired yet satisfied, and all were thinking that it wouldn't be a bad idea if this was to become a weekend tradition.

The moment he entered the apartment, Akashi was greeted by Gitsune in her nine-tailed fox form. It was one of those things that Akashi was accustomed to — it was a habit of hers to turn to her original form whenever she was all alone in the apartment.

"Tadaima," Akashi said, then gave her the customary scratch behind the ear as she barked her welcome to him. He headed straight to the shower after getting all sweaty earlier, then went to the kitchen to make tea with the fox once again curled up on the cushions round the table.

"Gitsune, I'm leaving at six. I have to attend to a social gathering."

The fox used telepathy to communicate with him. _I know. So?_

He took a sip of his Earl Grey tea. "I'll be back late."

_Give me a number._

He shook his head. "Eleven."

_No. _

"No? Why?"

The fox's eyes opened, and they looked like hard marbles. She raised her head from her paws, and met Akashi's gaze.

_Listen, kit. It's either you go home way before eleven or you wait until the party ends. But don't go home by eleven. _Her head dropped back, but her eyes remained open, watching Akashi's reaction.

"If you say so," he said, and went on drinking his tea while he mentally prepared his speech for the gathering later that night.

—

It was dark when Gitsune opened her eyes. Akashi had left while she was sleeping; she'd heard him say goodbye to her before he exited the room. Her dinner was already served on the table, it's cover easily removed with a push of her nose.

_Hmmm, tofu. _

As she feasted on her favorite food, she was reminded that it was because of her that the Akashi heir developed a liking to it. He had noticed that the kitsune was always earting the same thing again and again, and out of curiousity had asked her what that white thing tastes like. A spoonful later and the little kit decided then and there that tofu is his favorite food from that time on.

With a bit of some magic, she made the dishes wash themselves as she sat by the windows, looking down at the city below her, all lit up in bright and neon lights. She must've been sitting there in the darkness for hours when she felt her senses tingling.

Her ears dropped in the same way a human's shoulders would slump in disappointment.

_Of all the times for the whelp to choose not to listen to me. _

For a split second the living room was engulfed by a bright light, and when darkness was restored, the light had taken the fox along with it as well.

—

It happened in an instant, Akashi barely had time to process anything. All he knew is that he was driving along the highway, entering the intersection when all of a sudden, bright lights coming from the driver window's side blinded him as a cacophony of blaring horns echoed in his ears. Just before the truck slammed into the side of his black Maserati, a ball of light coming from the inside of his car wrapped itself around him, and Akashi felt a very familiar sensation on his face.

"Mokomoko—?"

And that was the last thing he remembered before pain erupted in his feet.

Then everything went black.


	4. Chapter 3:

**TheEmperor'sEmpress»**

**» Anyone who had figured who is this anime character whose gender was changed and became Akashi's Gitsune? :D**

**Anyways, please read and review — not just this story but with my other works as well! Tell me what you think! **

**P.S. I do not own Kuroko no Basuke. **

***Chapter Two: Step***

•• **PAST ••**

"A bit energetic today, aren't we, little kit?" I sat on one of the sofas watching Setsuna, who was holding the young Seijuurou under his armpits. It had been two years since he was born, and from a helpless pup he was fast becoming a bundle of energy, all smiles and giggles as he clumsily put one foot in front of the other, trying to walk on the carpeted floor of the wide living room.

His crimson orbs shined with childish innocence as he walked back and forth tirelessly in front of me, his mother bent forward as she supported him from behind. He must have done it a dozen times until he finally got tired. Almost immediately, he reached out to me, telling his mother that he wants to get to me. His gaze was fixed on my fluffy fur,of course, and I sighed while Setsuna chuckled at my predicament. I prepared myself for a round of torture.

"Mokomoko!" Akashi said excitedly, burying his face in my fur. He did that several times as I held him upright, his feet on my thighs.

"Yes, yes, I know what it is, kit. No need to scream it out loud every three seconds," I grumbled, my ears twitching in slight annoyance.

After a while, Akashi stopped and peered into my face. His hand went to the crescent moon that marked my forehead, partly visible in a gap in my bangs. When I leaned back to prevent him from touching it, he voiced out his protest and stretched out his arms trying to reach his newfound object of interest.

"Seriously, you're the most difficult heir I've ever handled," I said, my head bowed as he messed with my hair and my ears, which caught his curiosity and was now playing with it. Everytime he would touch one of them, my ear would twitch, making his eyes widen in interest, and therefore would prompt him to repeat the action.

Touch, flick, stare. Touch, flick, stare.

Squeal.

Press repeat.

The kit was still doing it when his father made one of his rare appearances in the baby's playroom. He was actually searching for Setsuna when his gaze landed first on me and his son.

"Seijuurou, stop playing with Gitsune's ears," he said in a booming voice. I felt the little kit jump up in surprise, and as babies tend to do when surprised in an unpleasant way, his eyes began to pool with tears.

"Katsuo, you don't have to shout at Seijuurou!" I heard Setsuna scolding her husband. I heard him reply, but I tuned them out and focused on a more pressing matter: the little kit.

"Shush now, kit, don't cry," I said as gently as I could, even going as far as flicking my ears just to make him giggle. Successfully preventing what might have been a very noisy crying fest, I turned my attention back to the bickering couple.

"Katsuo," I said in a tone that made the Akashi clan head take a step backward. I narrowed my golden eyes at him, and in a tone as cold and deadly as the harshest winter, I showed him my obvious annoyance. "Leave the room."

"Gitsune—" Setsuna gasped. This is the first time that she had seen me like this. It's rare for me to get pissed off so much, and when I do, well, it's not a pleasant thing to watch. When Katsuo refused to listen and try to reason out with me, I repeated my order.

"Leave the room. Now."

I could feel my eyes turning red, and my fangs lengthening, and now, even Setsuna was afraid. She hurried to lead her husband out the playroom and instantly, I calmed down. I looked at the little kit, oblivious to the world as he played with my fur. I held on to the kit's tiny hands as I gently placed him on the floor, supporting him as he took tiny steps. His steps were a bit stiff, but it'll get better with practice.

We were near the door when it opened and in came Setsuna. She breathed a sigh of relief at seeing me playing with Seijuurou like nothing happened.

"Kit, your mom's here," I said to him as I pointed at Setsuna with a finger. Setsuna smiled at her son and the little Akashi tugged at my hand to lead him to where his mother is.

"Seijuurou," and Akashi found himself being taken away from me and into his mother's arms. He giggled a bit, then turned his head to look at me.

He stretched his arms toward me.

"Hmmm? Want me to carry you, too, kit?" I asked, tilting my head. "Then come here."

Setsuna held his hands and led him to me.

"That's it, kit," I cooed as I crouched a distance away from them, "You can do it."

Akashi babbled incoherent words but didn't stop. When he was just a short ways to him, I nodded at Setsuna to let go of the baby. She was a bit hesitant, and so, she put her hands just a few inches from Seijuurou's body ready to catch him if he would fall down.

The boy was at first surprised when his mother's hands left him, but he soon smiled at his newfound freedom. Looking straight ahead, he saw me with waiting arms, urging him to move forward into them.

I watched as the kit made an effort to walk towards me but I know that sooner or later his tiny legs will give up on him. He was only a couple steps away when he fell.

"Not bad, kit not bad," I said as I lifted him up. "Almost there." I placed a kiss on his forehead and rubbed my nose with him as he giggled when my hair would tickle his face. I can only laugh at him and his overflowing happiness. "Next time, I'm sure you'll make it."

•• **PRESENT ••**

White. Everything was white.

Where am I? he thought. In his foggy mind, he remembered the loud honking of a car's horn, the blinding lights, the crash... He'd been caught in a car accident.

A doctor came in with a clipboard containing his file. "Akashi-san. Good to see you're awake." He checked his vitals, wrote something on the clipboard, then turned back to the redhead who had been silent the whole time. "Do you remember why you were in here?"

"It was a car accident."

The doctor nodded. "The truck driver ran the red light and crashed into your car. The driver was unharmed, but your car was wrecked, especially the driver's side. It was a miracle that you only escaped with a broken ankle. I mean, it was near impossible that someone would survive such an impact. And not even a scratch on your body!" The doctor smiled.

Akashi remembered the warm and soft thing that covered him before he went unconscious. He nodded at the doctor then asked when he would be discharged.

"You don't have any serious damage, so it wouldn't make sense to keep you here. You can leave now, if that's what you want. Do you have someone to take you home?"

Akashi was about to answer that he will be fine alone when someone knocked on the door. When the doctor opened it, Akashi found out that it was none other than the kitsune herself.

However, she looks totally different.

Her waist-length silver hair was tied in twin pigtails, and her face was free from the marks that adorned it in her usual human form. Her hands looked just like the normal human hand, and she even wearing normal human clothes — a cashmere sweater over a black pleated skirt, and black boots. Gone was the fur that covered her shoulder.

She looked completely human.

He heard her ask the doctor about him.

"Ano, is Akashi-kun awake?" she asked in an innocent voice, just like a worried girlfriend and Akashi fought the urge to roll his eyes at Gitsune's acting.

_Come on, Gitsune, you know I'm perfectly awake here_, he thought. And then he stopped — _Akashi-kun_?

The doctor stood there staring at her for a full minute. "Uhm, Doctor-san?"

"Ah!" The man exclaimed, snapping out of his daze. "Are you Akashi-san's girlfriend?"

"N-n-no!" A pretty blush bloomed on her face. "We're just friends!"

"Ah, I see..." The doctor sounded disappointed. Akashi could hear Gitsune's laughter in his mind. "Come in, come in." He ushered the girl inside. "Akashi-san is ready to be discharged. You might as well help him get home."

"Oh, thank you, doctor. Maybe after a bit of rest, then I'll take Akashi-kun home."

After a few more words, the doctor finally left the room. Gitsune snorted and walked to Akashi's bedside.

"Gitsune, I —" Akashi began, but the fox cut him off with a flick to the forehead. With a snap of her fingers, a set of clothes for him to change into appeared on the end of the bed.

She frowned at him, and heaved an exasperated sigh as she sat on the edge of his bed. "I told you not to go home by eleven, right? Of all the times that you chose not to listen to what you were told!"

Akashi looked away guiltily. He did not like worrying Gitsune like this. The true reason was that Akashi had totally forgot about her warning. For some reasons, it totally slipped his mind, thus when he had done enough socialization, he decided to go home.

And had that stupid accident.

"I apologize. It's not that I didn't listen, it's that —"

"You forgot, yes," Gitsune said in an annoyed voice. "I even barely made it on time! If I hadn't woke up at the right time, I doubt you'd be able to survive the crash!" There was a moment's pause, before she spoke again, this time gently with a bit of worry. "How was your foot?"

Akashi tried moving his left foot and winced at the pain. "It still hurts to move it." With effort, Akashi faced Gitsune and met her gaze. "Gitsune, I'm really sorry. And thank you, for saving me."

He blinked when she suddenly pinched his cheeks. Gitsune was back to her usual self. "Now, how can I stay mad when my little kit looks at me like that?"

Akashi removed her hand from his face and rubbed his cheek. That hurts. No doubt she left a red mark on it.

"Aww, I won't mind having to save you from car crashes if it would make you act like that... What do you say, kit?"

It was his turn to sigh. "I am sincere when I said that, Gitsune."

"I know, I know... Just lightening the mood. Now, off you go and change. I don't like staying in this form any longer."

Akashi snorted, and moved with effort not to jostle his ankle. The fox watched him for a bit before sighing to herself and muttering.

"It wouldn't hurt if I sped up the healing process a bit right?"

And to Akashi: "Just a moment, kit," and she sat at the edge of the bed, removed the blanket covering his foot, and laid a gentle hand on his injury. Akashi caught on quickly on what she was about to do.

"Gitsune, I thought you're not allowed to —"

She shushed him then, and concentrated on setting the bones in his ankle right. "It's nothing serious," she said. "It's not like I'm raising a whole army of the dead. Besides, I won't have you hobbling round the apartment in a crutch if I can help it. I'll probably die laughing.

There! All set!" She gave his foot a light slap, and laughed lightly. "You can change now!"

Akashi smiled to himself as he stood up and gathered the clothes in his arms. Gitsune was staring out the window, back turned to him. He whispered a soft word of gratitude, before going to the comfort room. Behind him, the fox also smiled.


	5. Chapter 4

**TheEmperor'sEmpress»**

**» A Crimson Oath is under revision from Chapter 16 onwards. Gomenasai T_T**

**Anyways, please read and review — not just this story but with my other works as well! Tell me what you think! **

**P.S. I do not own Kuroko no Basuke. **

***Chapter Four : Keepsake ***

•• **PAST****••**

It was nine in the morning. Carrying a tray of food for the kit's morning snack, I headed to the study where the kit would be, being taught his letters or whatnot. To my surprise, he was all alone when I came inside the room, too busy with whatever he was working on his desk to even look up at me and say hello.

As I set the tray on a vacant space on his table, I noticed that he was drawing something. He held a red crayon in his hands which he used to color his artwork. I let him be for a while, and settled on the chair in front of his desk and waited for him to finish.

Minutes later, he finally stopped and with both hands, he held up the finished piece before him, scrutinizing it. I saw him take a look at me, then back to the paper, and he frowned slightly.

"What's wrong, kit?" I asked, standing up and going round his table to stand beside him. Before I could take a good look on his paper, he slammed it facedown on the desk and shook his head.

"Hmm?"

"Don't look!" he shouted. My eyes widened slightly. He gasped in surprise — he never spoke to me like that before. "S-sorry, I —"

I laid my hand on his head. "It's okay. I should've asked permission first to see your drawing. But I wonder why you won't let me see it... Nothing's stopped you from showing me your works before."

"I'm afraid Gitsune-san will not like it," the boy said in a small voice, head bowed.

"Why wouldn't I? I like everything that my dear little kit does."

"But it's not perfect!"

Perfect. There goes that word again. A four-year old boy must not be concerned with that idea yet. However, Seijuurou, like all Akashis before him, were taught to be perfect the moment they were born. Perfection is the only way to be accepted in the family. One mistake, and you're out.

"Who said it wasn't perfect? Did you show it to your mother or your tutor?"

"No. But I just knew it isn't perfect."

Oh, I thought. I smiled at him. "Don't be too hard on yourself, kit. Everything you do is sure to be perfect. Don't you agree?"

"But, Gitsune-san," he began, but I cut him off with a shake of my head.

"If you don't have confidence in yourself, you'll get nowhere. If you don't think it's perfect, then let me see it and be the judge of its quality."

He was hesitant of course, so I held out my hands, beckoning him to give me the paper to take a look at it. Slowly, he turned it face up on his desk. I edged closer to get a better view.

It was a drawing of two people — I mean, one human and one yokai. It was a simple illustration, as a child of four can do, but I admit Akashi's drawing skills is far excellent than kids of his age. He paid attention to details, and he colored it neatly too. The two figures were drawn standing facing forward, their hands linked in the middle, a pair of sakura trees framing them. The human had red hair, the yokai white.

It was a drawing of Akashi and me.

At my lack of reaction, Akashi covered it with his hands and said, "See! It's not good enough!"

His outburst surprised me. He had taken my silence as a sign of disappointment when it was quite the opposite.

"Seijuurou," I told him to look at me. Two teary eyes met mine. "Your drawing is wonderful. Can I have it?"

"I will just draw another one."

"No, I want this one." I pulled the paper under his palms and gazed at it in adoration. "This is already perfect as it is."

"The marks on your cheek was not drawn evenly," he said with a childish pout.

"Hmm? I didn't even notice. Don't be too critical, kit, or you'll end up noticing flaws instead of appreciating the good in things." I gave him a kiss on the forehead, which made him feel better as he finally managed a smile. I showed him the drawing. "I'll be keeping this. I'll consider this as the first gift you've given me."

"Then I'll draw more pictures and give them to you so that you'll have many gifts from me!" the boy declared proudly.

"What would you like in exchange?" I asked him. He shook his head.

"You don't have to give me anything, Gitsune-san."

I've gone through this whole gift-exchanging with all the heirs but this is the first time that my offer was turned down.

"But why? You surely have something that you want. I can get it for you."

"Gitsune-san has given me a lot already."

"I don't remember giving you anything."

"I thought we were friends," he sulked.

I knew what he was getting at. I am merely testing him if he would really say it out loud. But this is indeed a first — an Akashi heir choosing an intangible concept of friendship than material possession.

You're a different one, Seijuurou, I said in my mind in approval. Perhaps you'll be the one to finally change the image of your clan.

"You gave me friendship. Mother taught me about it before when she was telling me a story about the bonds that connects a person to others. Gitsune-san is my very first friend."

"I know, kit, I'm just kidding around," I said with a laugh.

"Do you have to tease me everytime?" he said, glaring at me as hard as he could, which only intensified my laughter because he was far from intimidating.

The little whelp was too cute.

•• **PRESENT ••**

Akashi sat by the low wooden table in the middle of the living room, a calligraphy brush in hand as he stared intently at the blank scroll in front of him. He was at a loss of a suitable adage to write on it and was racking up the numerous texts he had read in his mind in hopes of stumbling on a gold mine.

Presently another being came into the room. He looked up and saw his yokai companion, looking so out of place in his apartment in central Tokyo. She looked exactly the same as far as he can remember when he was still living in their manor in Kyoto, although the fur on her shoulder was taking on a more yellowish hue. Her kimono was the same white with red cherry blossom crests at the collars and sleeves. A long black sash with gold and crimson swirls was wrapped around her waist instead of the traditional obi. Despite the obvious lack of need to wear such armor, she still dons a spiked pauldron on her left shoulder, attached in place to the upper section of her black cuirass and lotus petal faulds.

She looked at him and raised an inquisitive eyebrow. Her golden eyes locked with his, their slit pupils appearing more thinner than they already are due to the bright artificial light overhead. Her bare feet made no noise as she padded over to where Akashi was.

"Got nothing to write, kit?"

Akashi glared at the pet name she used to refer to hm. "I told you not to call me that. I'm not a kitten nor a kit fox."

"What would you prefer then?" She sat across him and rested an elbow on the table. She cradled her face in her hand. "Pup? Whelp? Cub? Tod?"

Akashi shook at each of the terms she mentioned. "Gitsune, I'm a human, in case you have forgotten, and I'm not that young anymore to be called as such. I'm already in college now, and I'll be turning eighteen this December. I am hardly what you call a child anymore."

The kitsune laughed. "Still young compared to me."

"We're talking human standards here. And we both know you're ancient."

"Unlike humans who dread aging, for us kitsune, the older you get, the better." She tossed her silver mane over her shoulder. "Though I don't look like it."

"Indeed. We look the same age."

"Hmm-mm. So," she said, getting back to the original topic, "what are you doing?"

"An attempt at calligraphy." Akashi set the brush down. "I can't think of anything to write."

His eyes wandered from the demon's face, from the twin stripes on her cheeks to the crescent moon in the middle of her forehead, to the fluffy material covering her right shoulder. Unbidden memories of his childhood resurfaced in his mind, reminding him of the times when he used to play with that same fur-covered shoulder. It even turned out to be the first word that the Akashi heir had said.

A mischievous gleam appeared in the fox's golden orbs as she followed his gaze. In a teasing voice, she said, "Want to play with my _mokomoko-sama _now that you're bored of calligraphy?" Akashi shot her an incredulous look. "I'll let you if you promise not to pull them too hard and not to wipe your drool on them."

"I was a child when I did those things," he retorted defensively.

"But not anymore?"

"Do I have to repeat myself?"

She stuck her tongue out at him and he blinked twice at the childish gesture. "You're no fun to tease. Go back to yourself from thirteen years ago, will you?"

Akashi gazed at her flatly. "Of course you'll prefer when I am still innocent and uncapable of arguing with you."

"You got it."

"What goes around comes back around. Or were you kidding when you taught me that?"

"Good pupil. Sharp memory."

"I've a perfect memory."

She rolled her eyes at that then remembered something. "Remember your first gift to me?"

Akashi didn't even to pause to think. "Yes, I do. It's that drawing you asked from me when I was four." He narrowed his eyes. "You still have it?"

She nodded, and, like magic, a piece of folded paper, brittle with age of more than a decade, appeared in her hand. Unfolding it carefully, she showed it to the redhead, who looked like he would rather not see it, and said with a flourish, "Cute, isn't it?"

Akashi tried not to show his embarrasment at his own work. It was clearly drawn in a childish way, and he had trouble accepting that that was indeed his own drawing.

"Give me that. I'll draw you a better one," he offered. Gitsune looked at him in mild disbelief. In a blink of an eye, the drawing disappeared.

"You said that to me before. My answer still stands."

He clicked his tongue. "Why do you even bother keeping that?" he asked, morbidly curious.

"I'm pretty sentimental." Then she added with a sly smile, "But I won't accepting another drawing as a gift."

Akashi let out a mild chuckle at the demon's impishness. "Fine," and he stood and went off in search of drawing materials. No sign of limping, she noticed. It's like the accident didn't happen, which was just a couple of days ago. When he was out the room, her smile vanished, and she sighed.

"Keepsake, huh," she murmured sadly. "Sooner or later you'll become just another memory to me, kit." And inside she was desperately wishing for time to slow down or simply stop right now.


	6. Chapter 5

**TheEmperor'sEmpress»**

**» After a long time of not updating this one... Well, here's a new chapter!**

**Anyways, please read and review — not just this story but with my other works as well! Tell me what you think! **

**P.S. I do not own Kuroko no Basuke. **

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo**

***Chapter Five : Bookmark ***

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo**

•• **PAST ••**

It was a Sunday, and I was heading to the hidden lake deep in the forest area of the Akashi grounds. It was around two in the afternoon, early spring. The heat of the sun is still cold, and the wind that blows occassionally still carries with it traces of the previous season.

My steps were leisurely as I walked to my destination. It was shady inside the forest, with only bits of sunlight able to pierce through the leafy cover. The ground was covered in soft grass, like the downy feathers on the underside of the birds. Straight ahead I can see the glittering waters of the lake, like a crystalline surface in the middle of nowhere.

Near the banks of the lake sat a little boy, head bowed to his lap. I approached him, and surprised him with a light pat on the shoulder. He was totally absorbed in his book that he did not notice my presence.

"Gitsune!" he exclaimed, looking up at me with ruby eyes.

"So you were here, after all. Reading that book again?"

The boy nodded enthusiastically. "Do you know the story?"

I shook my head, causing him to frown, but only for a moment. I sat down beside him, and he climbed into my lap. Smiling, he opened the book once more, and said to me proudly, "I'll tell it to you, then!"

As Akashi started reading the book to me from the start, I ruffled his soft, crimson hair as I listened to him. In truth, I know the story already — it's just an excuse to see how Akashi will react to that. The heir was not selfish with what he knew, and he was ready to give assistance to those who do not know. This observation pleased me immensely.

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo**

•• **PRESENT ••**

Gitsune glanced at Akashi who was sitting on the sofa with a book in his lap, an amused look on his face. Whatever it is that he was reading must be very interesting for the redhead to be like this. Then his expression turned thoughtful, then sad, and into a whole category of expressions that Akashi can express on that pretty face of his. Gitsune, for the most part, was a bit surprised.

"Your facial muscles aren't tired yet?" she called out from her spot on the low table, where she was doing some calligraphy on something. The redhead looked up at her with a puzzled expression, and upon realizing the meaning of her question, he chuckled and shook his head before lifting the book up and showed her its cover.

"'The Little Prince'? Why are you reading it? Don't you have econ and accounting books to tackle for the finals exam before the summer break?"

He scoffed mildly. "I already know what I need to know to ace the exams." It goes without telling — Akashi's grades on everything was nothing but perfect A's. "I happen to see this book when Tetsuya asked me to accompany him to the bookstore yesterday. I decided to buy it. It's one of my favorite novels after all."

Gitsune stood up and sat beside him on the couch. "I remember you reading that one over and over again back when you were seven."

"It's a nice read; I'm sure you know the story."

"You were a nice chatterbox that time — half the time when you were reading the story to me was spent on your endless questions and comments."

Akashi gave her a flat look. "Of course. That shows that I actually think about the things that I read."

She laughed at that. "Anyway, what's with the expressions earlier?"

"I made some new realizations — things I wasn't able to see when I last read this book. I found some of the characters here have equivalents or resemblances to actual people I know."

"Oh? Then who will I be in the story?"

Akashi's smile was both happy and sad. "The fox, obviously."

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo**

Their conversation on this book continued during the summer festival in Kyoto. Akashi and Gitsune had gone back to the old capital to spent a week for the festival, as Akashi was secretly fond of it. The two walked among the crowd, browsed through the stalls, played a few games and ate a lot of food. Gitsune was dressed in a her usual red sakura kimono minus the armor and the fur covering on her shoulder, while Akashi has on a snow white yukata with golden dragons lined on its collar and sleeves.

It was almost time for the fireworks display,and Akashi led Gitsune to the bridge that spans across a small pond in the middle of the park where they could get a good view of the display. As they waited for it to start, Akashi asked Gitsune in a quiet voice.

"Say, Gitsune, when I go, will you cry?"

She turned to look at him, but he was gazing up at the heavens, searching the constellations that adorned the night sky. If the story was true, then the Little Prince would be in one of those twinkling diamonds up there.

She was silent for a while, then gazed up at the stars. She leaned against the stone bridge.

"Ah, I shall cry." The same answer that the fox in the book had given to the Little Prince.

"Did you cry for every single one of them?"

"No."

He looked at her in wonder. "Then why would you cry for me?"

"Have you forgotten, kit?" She looked down at the pondwater, where the skies were reflected on its still surface. "When you were little, you asked me who among the characters in the book stood out for me."

"The rose, the Little Prince's rose," he answered, to which she nodded, and met his eyes.

"I never gave you my reason back then. You know why? Because out of all the Akashi heirs I've ever met, and will meet in the future, to me, you, Akashi Seijuurou, will be unique in all the world. It doesn't matter how many heirs I've met. Only you will I consider as my rose."

Akashi was taken aback by her sincere answer. She continued when he didn't reply. "You, like the rose, is an ephemeral being, something that will disappear in time. But unlike the geographer, who only records those that are eternal, I, will treasure your memories and carve them in stone. I'll make you a part of the mountain itself where you planted your roots."

Gitsune's face was serene, yet there's a veiled sadness in her amber depths. Akashi was about to reply when the first of the fireworks bloomed in the sky with a loud explosion.

_'Humans are like fireworks, and Gitsune is the sky_,' he thought. _'Fireworks climb, shine, go on separate ways, and eventually fade away, but the sky is always there, watching.'_ He envisioned himself as one of those colorful fireworks that momentarily graces the sky with their presence. A bright red one soared to the sky and erupted into a fountain of glittering crimson. It lasted a few seconds, then vanished completely, leaving no trace. It's like it never existed at all.

He wished he was a star instead, so that he can always be together with the sky. Or maybe the sun, so that Gitsune will always be waiting for him to rise in the east. He wished he was nothing like the fireworks. It was a saddening thought.


End file.
